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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25669486">Threads of Fate</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsmoonpeaches/pseuds/itsmoonpeaches'>itsmoonpeaches</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Lost My Heart in Republic City [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, F/M, Kataang Week, Kataang Week 2020, Love, Minor Sokka/Suki, POV Katara (Avatar), Post-100 Year War (Avatar TV), Post-Avatar: The Last Airbender, Pre-Avatar: Legend of Korra, Republic City, Romance, Southern Water Tribe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:20:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,090</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25669486</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsmoonpeaches/pseuds/itsmoonpeaches</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Red Thread of Fate</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>It was tradition that each immediate family member be represented in a Water Tribe wedding. They were supposed to be present on either side of the marriage in some capacity. They were to offer tributes, say a speech, anything of the sort, as long as they were there. The only problem was, Katara did not have a mother anymore. </p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Or, with only a few months left until their wedding, Katara and Aang decide to make a trip to the Southern Water Tribe to find the last piece they need for the ceremony.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aang &amp; Hakoda (Avatar), Aang &amp; Katara (Avatar), Aang &amp; Sokka (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Hakoda &amp; Katara (Avatar), Hakoda &amp; Sokka (Avatar), Kanna &amp; Katara (Avatar), Katara &amp; Kya (Avatar), Katara &amp; Sokka (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Lost My Heart in Republic City [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1851508</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>84</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Threads of Fate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was written for Day 7: Red Thread of Fate.</p>
<p>There's only 1 more prompt after this one! (Well, it's just a free day prompt, but it's something!) </p>
<p>This came about I guess in a convoluted fashion and to be honest, it was the most difficult to come up with an idea for. In the end, I wanted to talk more about Kya's side of the family. So, this came to be.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was tradition that each immediate family member be represented in a Water Tribe wedding. They were supposed to be present on either side of the marriage in some capacity. They were to offer tributes, say a speech, anything of the sort, as long as they were there. The only problem was, Katara did not have a mother anymore.</p>
<p>According to her Gran Gran, Kanna, this meant that tradition called for an alternative route. Katara had to search for something of her mother’s that could be offered as a familial tribute during the ceremony. She explained that her necklace did not count, as that had initially been Kanna’s. And if Katara thought about it, it might have been a little awkward to offer the same necklace that Pakku made.</p>
<p>Although he and Gran Gran had found each other again, that did not erase the fact that they had a complicated past, and that past involved a different marriage and a different husband. Though Kanna had made it to the incredible age of ninety-four, she had not lost her spark. Even so, being widowed two times over could not have been easy on anyone. Pakku might not have been her grandmother’s first love, but he was still loved by her. Katara was grateful that at least Gran Gran was still with them.</p>
<p>Besides, her mother’s necklace was already in her possession. She had to find something new.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Aang no longer had <em>any </em>family left. That normally would have led to a lot of finagling on his part in terms of tribute, but their wedding was not normal in the slightest. He considered her family and their friends his family. In his culture, that was enough. Since this was to be a union between two cultures as well, this was an accepted practice. Though, that was one of the very few modifications to the wedding itself.</p>
<p>“Air Nomads didn’t really have formal ceremonies for marriage,” Aang had told her when they had begun to plan after the engagement. “We believed in marriage and unions, but it was all done pretty quietly with the elders officiating as a blessing. It was something done between the couple.”</p>
<p>In many ways, Katara found that beautiful. In the Water Tribes, marriage was a custom that was regarded with celebration and religion. Everyone knew and saw it. While Aang did not deny that everyone knew couples were married, he emphasized that it was more like a sacred understanding between the two, a bond. Like it was a connection that kept them together rather than a formality.</p>
<p>Katara’s family was insistent upon ritual, though. Aang knew exactly what he was getting into, and he accepted the challenge with enthusiasm. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying it. She was grateful for his openness to learn and understand.</p>
<p>When she asked him if he wanted anything specific in the ceremony, he only requested two things: that he be allowed to wear the traditional Air Nomad formal attire that men had worn when their union was officiated, and that there was a lot of dancing at the end. The first one was met with an “Of course!” by everyone in Katara’s family, and the second was met with laughter. He explained to them that after an important ceremony, there were often dances. With how talented of a dancer he was, she was excited to be his partner again.</p>
<p>Katara and Sokka had rummaged through some of their things in Republic City. She thought her brother would be able to help since he had married Suki years before she and Aang decided it was time to make things official. Sure, at twenty-eight it was a little older than most people in the Water Tribes got married, but hers and Aang’s relationship was complicated. It was not that they had not known that they would spend the rest of their lives together, it was that between world rebuilding and his Avatar duties, there was less time to think about it. If anything, waiting gave them more time to figure themselves out. She was thankful for it.</p>
<p>Of course, after looking through Sokka’s things, he could not find their mother’s childhood blanket that he had used as his familial relic. She, Aang, and Sokka then came to a decision. They would have to travel to the Southern Water Tribe for a few days to discover something to use. With the wedding only in a couple of months on the day before the winter solstice, they did not have much time left, and none of them wanted to wait till the last minute.</p>
<p>“We have everything packed, Sokka,” Katara insisted. “I can’t believe you’re being so annoying right now.”</p>
<p>“It’s because Suki isn’t around to calm him down,” laughed Aang as he smoothed out Appa’s fur around his snout with a brush. He bent forward in his seat on the bison’s neck, trying to untangle more strands. “Someone has to stay with the kid.”</p>
<p>Sokka pouted, crossing his arms. He settled onto the saddle while Momo licked at his feet. “Yeah, but I offered to do it instead!” he cried.</p>
<p>“But you’re the only one who knows what to look for,” said Katara. She climbed onto the bison’s head next to Aang. “It kind of makes more sense for you to go. Suki <em>told you </em>to go.”</p>
<p>“She <em>is </em>the boss,” agreed Aang. He leaned backward, stuffing the brush he had been using into the bag slung at his side.</p>
<p>Sokka growled at the back, and Katara could not help but make fun of her older brother. She did not know why he was being more meticulous than usual. It was not like she and Aang had not been traveling the world on the back of a flying bison for half their lives.</p>
<p>Republic City vanished below them as the winds rushed to meet them. She imagined what it would be like to have everyone running around the map together again. Toph would yell about throwing up over the saddle, Zuko would complain about their ride not being fast enough, and Suki would probably be the most level-headed out of all of them. She missed it sometimes, but the most important thing was that now she always had Aang.</p>
<p>Sokka fell asleep easily curled up next to Momo. Katara found herself drooping as afternoon approached. Aang laid her head on his lap. She smiled into the folds of his clothes just as he kissed her hair.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>The three of them reached to Southern Water Tribe in record time. Though, she supposed that it was because they had barely made any pit stops. They had felt bad for poor Appa and consented to let him rest for a good few days before they took off. They were lucky that the tribe had built a stable just for him. He would be comfortable in there with hay and dried local plants.</p>
<p>They trudged through the shallow snow. In the middle of autumn, the poles were already freezing, but that was nothing compared to when winter arrived. Luckily for them, the Southern Water Tribe was also in the Southern Hemisphere, so that meant that it was technically spring. Though, that did not do much. It was still cold all year round.</p>
<p>Katara was used to pulling on her parka, and so was her brother. Though she and Aang alternated between her home and the city, she did get more used to moderate climates. She was a little jealous of the fact that Aang could use airbending to regulate his temperature and did not need much of an outfit change.</p>
<p>“Welcome home, Sokka, Katara,” her father said with a smile. He gestured to the home behind him. “Your grandmother is waiting for you.”</p>
<p>Katara embraced Hakoda, and Sokka followed her.</p>
<p>Aang bowed and greeted him as well. To this, her father laughed and patted him on the back. “And welcome home to you too, future son-in-law!”</p>
<p>The group went inside, pushing open the wooden door. Katara always marveled at how her tribe had grown and developed over the years. The buildings were actual buildings now, and her family no longer made their dwelling an animal skin tent. In fact, everything was quite cozy on the inside. There were pelts that were draped on the walls and a big white polar leopard fur spread on the ground in the living area. A hearth sat just next to it.</p>
<p>Gran Gran was sitting beside it, cross-legged. In her hands, a steaming bowl of broth. A low table was in the middle with the pot of the same soup. Her Gran Gran started to ladle some stew into individual bowls set out for them. She waved them over soon after.</p>
<p>When Aang grimaced, Katara started to giggle. “Relax, Aang,” she said, “It’s not sea prunes. It’s seaweed noddle soup.”</p>
<p>He seemed to deflate. “Oh, thank Yue,” he sighed in relief.</p>
<p>“Come now, Avatar,” her grandmother grinned as she handed him a bowl, “We know of your unfortunate dislike for the best vegetables in the world.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know if I would label them the <em>best vegetables, </em>but we can agree to disagree,” he replied.</p>
<p>Katara sat close to Aang, reaching for her own bowl. She was content in the circle they formed. She was comfortable with him, and with her immediate family. It was almost as if they were all meant to be together since the beginning.</p>
<p>The evening set in, and she was tired. They would begin searching through the family stash tomorrow. After dinner, she did make a fuss with her dad about sleeping arrangements. (“We’re already practically married, dad! Why can’t we share a room?”) In the end, she lost. Her father had insisted that it was against decorum, and the Avatar and the chief’s daughter sharing a room before marriage did not look good.</p>
<p>“It’s alright, Katara,” Aang said in that easy way of his, “I’m sharing with Sokka just like old times. It won’t be bad.”</p>
<p>“But—”</p>
<p>He kissed her cheek and suddenly she was agreeable. “Goodnight,” he added, a soft look in his eye, “I’ll see you in the morning.”</p>
<p>The morning could not come fast enough. She tossed and turned in her cot, bundling her blanket about her in loops and clumps. She and Aang had shared a room for a while, and if she was being honest with herself, being at home with the intent to look through her mother’s old possessions was jarring. Her fingers lingered on the pendant of her mother’s necklace that she had placed on her bedside table.</p>
<p>Her thoughts turned to Aang. He would know what to say to her and how to calm her. In fact, she thought of how he proposed to her.</p>
<p>He had brought her out one day, skimming the skies on the back of Appa. There was a sunset that painted the clouds in swathes of oranges and purples. Below them, the great Earth Kingdom city of Ba Sing Se looked miniature in size. People wound through every street. The air was crisp and cool.</p>
<p>“Hey,” he had said to her in an almost-whisper. His eyes appeared silver. “What if…what if…for the rest of our lives, we always did this?”</p>
<p>She had raised an eyebrow. “Travel on Appa?”</p>
<p>He shook his head. “If my life…<em>this</em> life is balance, you would be my other half,” he had said. He did not look at her. “What if for the rest of out lives, we could always be that for each other…other halves?”</p>
<p>He had finally looked at her, and she knew without a doubt what he was asking. “I’d like that,” she had replied.</p>
<p>Now, as Katara wrapped the blanket tighter around her, she realized how easy it was to think of him and find herself in a better place. She was comforted even by the memory of his voice.</p>
<p>His words had been beautiful then, and they were beautiful now. He had not given her a necklace or a memento of any kind. That was not the Air Nomad way, and frankly, it was not hers or Aang’s way either. They had come together with a purpose and stayed together because of their love and friendship. It was enough for Katara to know that words were all they needed.</p>
<p>With a deep exhale, she decided to start looking through her mother’s things right then. Aang’s proposal was fresh in her mind, and that gave her the conviction to move forward. She could not sleep anyway.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Katara snuck into the chests that were piled in the living area. There was at least a dozen of them from different generations of her family. Through the windowpane, the early brightness of the sky trickled into the room. It was the beginnings of sunrise.</p>
<p>She did not know exactly what she was looking for, just that it had to be something of her mother’s. Something special. She wanted it to mean something to her, and maybe even to Aang. She sifted through clothing, a beret, even a pair of wrinkled boots. A pang resounded for a moment in her chest as she saw all the memories of Kya.</p>
<p>She breathed in. <em>No, </em>she told herself, <em>this is a happy occasion. </em></p>
<p>She pushed aside yet another wooden chest, frustration seeping in. She pulled a small one that was about as long as the width of her shoulders. Curious, she touched the weathered markings on the box, feeling the well-worn carvings. There were stylized waves all around it, swirling and curling through artistic boats with sails.</p>
<p>Her fingers ghosted the top, and finally edged to the front where there was a rusted metallic latch. It seemed that no one had bothered to open the box in years.</p>
<p>It took some persuading and a little waterbending, but Katara managed to open the latch. When the lid popped open, she coughed. Dust eddied around her in a haze. She fanned it away.</p>
<p>Crinkling her eyebrows together, she noticed that there was a meager pile of old documents inside. She sorted through them. They were mostly letters from between the Northern and Southern Tribes, but she stopped in the middle when she found one with neat, slanted handwriting. She tugged it out, careful not to rip it.   </p>
<p>The parchment she found was yellowed, especially along the edges. When she unraveled it enough so she could read it, she noticed that it was dated about one-hundred and twenty-six years ago. Katara gasped, placing the box off to the side. She sat near the hearth, letting the glow from the fire light the penmanship. She held it in both hands, scanning the page. The letter read:</p>
<p>
  <em>Panuk,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Old friend, I ask this of you in confidence that the news not be spread and remain secret until we are ready. The Council of Elders has felt troubling signs. Storm clouds are gathering. I am sure you feel this too, but until we are certain we cannot act. Instead, we have chosen precaution. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We have known of the Avatar’s identity for many years and have trained him to the point of mastery. I cannot yet tell you his name, but I can tell you that we have chosen to reveal his identity to him. I know it is early and that you might be shocked to hear this news, but the Avatar must begin training in the other elements. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>For now, he will complete his training in spiritual matters elsewhere, but I sense that the time is rapidly approaching that we will send him toward you. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Please, I ask that you become the Avatar’s waterbending master. You are one of the best in the world, and you knew Avatar Roku’s waterbending master in his old age. There is no one that the Council does not trust with the Avatar’s next step in training more than you. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>If you are so willing, send us your reply. We will send him to you.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>—Monk Pasang </em>
</p>
<p>She placed the letter down on her lap, stunned.</p>
<p>“Ah, Panuk,” stated Kanna over her shoulder. Katara startled and turned to her. Even in her old age, her grandmother was perceptive. “Your mother’s grandfather, your great-grandfather. Kya used to speak of him often as a child.”</p>
<p>“He was supposed to be Aang’s—”</p>
<p>“The Avatar’s waterbending master, yes. It looks that way. Now we know where you inherited your waterbending from, don’t we?”</p>
<p>When she did not say anything else, her grandmother continued, “It seems that your destinies were intertwined even before you met.”</p>
<p>She grasped the edges of the letter, staring down at it. She heard her grandmother step toward the kitchen to boil water for tea. Her father joined her soon after.</p>
<p>Could it be that Aang was always meant to come her way? Could it be that they were always meant to cross paths, one way or another, in different lifetimes and in different forms? She knew how the Avatar cycle worked, how each life came after the next, and they were all entwined. She never thought that of herself though. How complicated and mystifying it must be, to be part of the same tapestry that made up the threads of fate.</p>
<p>“What are you doing up this early?” she heard Aang say to her behind her back. He walked to her front and sat down with her, their knees touching. “You’re usually still asleep when I meditate.” He titled his head. “What are you reading?”</p>
<p>Blinking, Katara handed him the letter without saying a word. When he finished reading it, he glanced up to her, meeting her eyes.</p>
<p>“It’s like we were meant to meet and to be together,” she whispered with reverence.</p>
<p>“Some people would call that fate,” he said just as quietly.</p>
<p>“What would you call it, Aang?”</p>
<p>“Destiny, maybe,” he said as he tapped his chin with a finger. After, leaned forward until he brushed his nose to hers. “But love sounds better to me.”</p>
<p>She laughed and lightly slapped his shoulder. She moved her head toward him, pushing them together, and teasing him with the way her lips whispered across his. “You’re a sap,” she murmured. She could taste his breath.</p>
<p>“I’m your sap.”</p>
<p>“Yes,” she said matter-of-factly, words caught in the tiny breadth between them, “you’re mine.” She closed the space, and she thought she could feel the thread of them that spanned across time in a taut line finally bend together until it knotted in the middle.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Panuk is an Inuit name I found that means "island." </p>
<p>I did take some liberties in terms of creating a culture of weddings for both the Water Tribes and Air Nomads, so please forgive me if it was offensive to anyone. However, the Air Nomad traditions were a little easier for me to come up with, as I based much of the belief system loosely on some Buddhist practices on marriage. Very loosely. </p>
<p>Aang's proposal came from many Asian practices on proposals. Nowadays, proposals and rings are more practiced and it became more Westernized. (Not to say that there are not exceptions, because there are. There are practices that are involved one way or another.) However, I know that when my parents decided to get married it was not elaborate and they really just had a conversation. My mom didn't even know she needed a ring until someone asked where it was. (Well then.) This can be said about many other Eastern cultures, particularly in Japan.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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